Social Media as the Object of Statistical Research

Abstract

Social media is gaining widespread popularity in the context of the rapid development of innovative technologies. Today, many business organizations use social media to communicate with their users. Social media helps business organizations improve their brands and stay where the user is – on the social networks. The article is aimed at theoretical substantiation of the content of the concept of «social media», disclosing their essence and functions, defining the theoretical basis for a statistical study of them in order to ensure possible further use for business development. To achieve the aim, various sources of information were analyzed and the history of social media development was considered. It is defined that social media depends on the use of Internet or Internet technologies. The article allocates the main components of social media, i.e., web forums, podcasts, blogs and micro-blogs, social networks, and provides the respective definitions. The main functional features of social media are considered, which are: identification, presence, conversations, relationships, groups, reputation and exchange. Since a significant proportion of the time spent by users on the Internet constitutes the time spent on social networks, the author defines the social networks that are most popular in Ukraine. On the example of the social network Facebook, which became the leader of the ranking, the main marketing functions offered by means of social media were researched. Among the main functions are: live video, «Sell something» function, survey creation, and publication planning. The analytics on the use of video advertising on the pages of the social network Facebook is considered. It is defined that the main advertisers in Ukraine, using this social network to display video ads, are on-line stores such as Rozetka, Allo and Fotos.

Keywords

• social media
• web forums
• social networks
• statistical research
• facebook